writing and fandom

[header ID: a dark photo of water lily leaves on water’s surface. Here and there, buds are emerging from the water, illuminated by an orange glow. end header ID] [PFP ID: A dim image of a marshy landscape. A dark, human-like silhouette can be seen on the bank. end PFP ID]

[osoka-writes]

my name is osoka, i go by it/they/ey/ae/fae/xe, and i’m adult.

it’s my sideblog for writing and (possibly) fandom stuff. i am a huge whump enjoyer, so expect whump content here. i will try to tag and warn about content, but if i miss something, feel free to ask for more tags! format of trigger tags is “tw [thing].”

i do not use AI for my works.

i’ll probably rewrite this post later.

[whumpandothercomfort]

There's a flavor of whump I'm always craving that I don't see very often, I think because the possibilities are so context-specific. You can do some things in some universes that you can't in others! You can do certain things with non-human characters that you can't with others!

But hear me out:

Whumper making physiological changes to Whumpee's body.

Could be through programming for robot characters, dedicated brainwashing for humans, magic for fantasy settings, weird biology for aliens...

A few examples off the top of my head:

Alien species that instinctively responds to neck squeezing by going limp like a scruffed kitten, because this helped them survive encounters with predators. Delicious all on its own -- now throw in a quick surgery to permanently clamp the nerve responsible. Whumpee wakes up in a permanent state of relaxed submission and can't even show how terrified they are.

Obedience programming/training that's wired directly into a character's brain. When the system detects unwanted thoughts, it applies pain. Even after rescue, Whumpee can't think of themselves as an autonomous being because their mind is desperately protecting itself.

Characters with magic having their magic corrupted or bound so it either hurts them to use, or it can only be used to serve Whumper's purposes. Bonus points if Whumper has full control over their magic AND the use of it hurts them.

Characters given a brain implant or parasite that stimulates the reward center of the brain, which would be great, except they can't turn it off. They're kept in a constant state of bleary euphoria... with just enough sense of self left to know they want it to stop.

Characters being spelled or programmed so they physically cannot function independently. Characters who very literally NEED to be given permission to do things like relax or take a walk or even use the bathroom. Not being given this permission leaves them in a state of locked stasis -- fully aware of the time passing. Bonus: Caretaker can't reverse it, so they just HAVE to navigate All Of This.

Alien species that will a develop chronic physical illness if deprived of touch for too long. Said illness can only be treated through regular physical touch. Defiant Whumpees will often be locked in solitary confinement and fed through a slot in the bars until symptoms start to manifest. Sometimes they'll be left even longer, to make sure they end up a severe case. And now, oopsie, the only way to ease this horrible pain is by letting your captors put their hands on you!

Just. Physiological whump. The horror of someone else controlling your body or your mind. Betrayal of body. Etc. Do you understand.

[zedd-undead]

Whumper and Whumpee who are on the same team. Whumper will provoke whumpee until they snap and then go cry to the rest of the team so that Whumpee develops a reputation for having a temper and being emotionally volatile. Now everytime they express something they’re dismissed.

So when Whumper starts causing real damage; starts crossing lines and escalating past verbal altercations, starts showing up at Whumpees house after fights so they can ‘finish things properly’. Until they start threatening Whumpees position on the team, saying that if they tell anyone about the little predicament Whumpee is in, they’ll tell everyone that Whumpee is the one threatening Whumper.

What’s worse? They recorded a video of Whumpee snapping after a particularly bad fight, snowing Whumpee cursing, threatening, and snapping at Whumper. Of course, the earlier footage, of Whumper beating the daylights out of Whumpee is all conveniently edited out.

[stars-hide-our-fires]

Dangerous Whumpee

CW: Restraints, muzzled, collared

Whumper keeps Whumpee in an excessive amount of restraints (can’t move an inch for chains, collared, muzzled) to ensure that they won’t break out - even if Whumpee is completely cooperative

Whumpee who does fight back, who bites, claws, scratches, does everything they can to cause as much damage to Whumper as possible

Whumper who “has to” keep Whumpee constantly sedated

Whumpee is a danger to themself, intentionally or not, so Whumper has to protect them before they fatally injure themselves

Nonhuman Whumpee is percieved as dangerous and muzzled/shock collared before they can plead their case, if they even can

Caretaker who is scared of Whumpee!

Stranger Caretaker arriving to rescue Whumpee after defeating Whumper but hesitating when they realise who or what Whumpee is

Whumpee’s hope turning to dread as they see this, and silently begging for mercy

Whumpee who lashes out at Caretaker, who hurts then one day, and guilt hits them at full force

Whumpee who believes they’re a danger to Caretaker and takes it upon themself to remove themself from the equation

Caretsker who flinches when Whumpee moves suddenly

Whumpee wakes up after being rescued, filled with relief - only when they try to move they notice the chains, and the muzzle

Or Whumpee wakes up in a hospital but is restrained to the bed “for their own safety”

Whumpee is a living weapon or villain and everyone is scared of them - except Caretaker’s child

Whumpee who tries to be gentle and unassuming to win the favour of those around them

[phoenixthegreat101]

y’know what I want to see more of with whumpees?

Dissociation

like most of the Whump I see has whumpees who remember everything clearly and are always crying and shi.

but what abt whumpees who dissociate heavily? Whenever they were tortured or whatever they mentally checked out of the situation, their mind somewhere far away from the pain.

and this carries over to when they’ve been rescued. Say Caretaker accidentally triggers them and instead of crying their eyes glaze over, mind already somewhere far away where they can’t be hurt

idk it’s just something interesting

[suaselaina]

smart whumpee who knows just how to hide things, knows just how to say the right things to make the right excuses to get the right reactions. smart whumpee who, in an effort to seem like they're fine and nothing ever happened, find themselves manipulating their team/friends into believing nothing ever happened. smart whumpee who realizes in their efforts to cover up their own pain they've started to sound just like their whumper...

[osoka-writes]

Disabled WHC: day 1

Prompt: New or worsened symptoms

Fandom: it’s written in generic style so can be read without context, but it is a work for an extremely niche fandom (Ark for Varg)

Content: disabled whumpee, self-deprecation, internalised ableism, trust issues, hints on complicated team dynamics, self-deadnaming in one scene

Whumpee curled under the blanket and closed their eyes shut. All of their body was burning from the inside and felt weirdly numb, weak, and useless at the same time. Their joints seemed too loose and unstable to hold their weight, but simultaneously too stiff and inflexible to move. Their muscles were sore. Their bones ached. Their head was full of cotton and fog.

They needed to get up. They had a lot of work to do. And they definitely didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention of their teammates. They didn’t want them to stick their noses in Whumpee’s business. They didn’t want to let them down—which was baffling. They have never been about the common cause, the greater good, and other ridiculous things Leader shouted about. Or they weren’t before.

They definitely weren’t in the right mind to think about it. They just needed to make their body to cooperate.

They were able to do it before. They’ve gotten used to being a bit tired after missions. Especially hard ones, like the latter. They had to move a lot, track and chase, and use their powers with little to no breaks. If they didn’t count lying in wait as breaks.

But it was nothing new. They have done it before. They were sore and felt sick before. They were able to push through it. Why couldn’t they do it now?

They raised the hand and pushed a blanket aside. A chill instantly ran through their body. Their head throbbed with a sharp pain. They tried to ignore it and sit up, and nearly felt out of bed, swaying dangerously.

They leaned against the cold wall and exhaled slowly. Okay. Maybe they’ve gotten sick. Maybe it will pass in a few days. Maybe they’re just being dramatic. Other people live through it just fine.

It’s not what being sick feels like, a tiny traitorous voice whispered at the back of their head.

They brushed it off dismissively. I think it’s actually pretty close to what being sick means.

Maybe you’ve become too soft, it chuckled slyly and venomously. And can’t handle a little discomfort anymore.

They made a conscious effort not to wince. It sounded too much like a certain person they weren’t in the mood to remember.

Poor little Deadname, the voice taunted. You’re not trying. You’re not putting effort.

Deadname is dead, they snapped and shook their head to shut the wicked thing up.

There was a knock in the door.

Whumpee put all their strength to sit upright.

“Come in,” They tried to sound nonchalant, but even their voice was weak today.

Leader opened the door. “Whumpee?” They spoke hurriedly, as usual. “We’re having a meeting, everyone is already—“ Their eyes finally caught the dim light of the room and Whumpee’s silhouette in the bed. They frowned worriedly. “Are you okay?”

“Of course, Leader,” Whumpee stretched their lips in the most carefree smile.

Leader didn’t buy it. “If you’re sick, you should go to Medic,” They rubbed their forehead. “Or I can bring them here.”

“No need,” Whumpee’s smile was glued to their face. “I’m perfectly fine.”

Leader looked hesitant. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Whumpee nodded and suppressed a pained grimace. Movement made the pain in their temples to pulse again. “I’ll be here in a five.”

“Okay,” Leader still didn’t sound convinced, but they thankfully decided to drop it.

When the door closed behind their back, Whumpee’s smile dropped. They had no idea how they would make it to the first floor in five minutes.

It’s time for a bit of heroism, i guess.

***

They managed to get out of the bed and down the stairs. When they arrived, everybody was already sitting in the meeting room. They let a couple of disapproving glances slide down their back and bounce off their impassive smile without actually reaching them. They perfected ignoring people’s opinions.

They took their usual spot in the corner and, as always, remained silent all the meeting. Well, maybe slightly more than always—they usually threw a couple of technical remarks or sarcastic comments. Today they were barely able to keep their eyes open. Teammates’ words blended into an indistinguishable jumble, and they remembered nothing of it. At the middle of the discussion they caught themself just staring at the wall, head empty and foggy, unable to recognise a word or form a single thought. They were totally useless. They would’ve better stayed in their room.

Well, at least nobody was paying attention to them.

Finally, the meeting that seemed to go on forever, came to an end. Whumpee suppressed a sigh of relief. They hadn’t processed a single thing, but there was unlikely something important. Most likely, just a regular debrief.

They waited while teammates were leaving the meeting room. They didn’t want to risk getting up and failing in front of them. Leader, who usually left first, rushing to the next task, was the last to come out, casting Whumpee a worried glance from the doorway.

Their tried to smile back. Even this movement felt unnaturally stiff and took too much energy.

They struggled to the feet, stumbled, and leaned on the table to catch the balance. The way upstairs waited them.

It’s just a bad day, they thought tiredly. Tomorrow everything will be back to normal.

***

If tomorrow wasn’t completely normal, it was definitely better. They still felt stiff and sore and worn down, but it was something they were able to push through. And they weren’t assigned to a mission, so they used an opportunity to slack off a bit. Contrary to some people’s belief, they were reasonable. They knew about their limits and when it’s time to stop pushing them too much. They survived harsher environments, and they managed pains and injuries since… They couldn’t remember properly, but it was long enough. Some things went so deep in the past they assumed they were born with it.

So, tomorrow was better. And the next day was even somewhat okay. The bad day passed without a trace, and they could put it behind them with a clear conscience. Everything was back to normal. They were right.

***

They were wrong.

At the fifth day they were assigned to a mission—unfortunately, with Leader who watched them like a hawk—and their body was shattered.

They barely made it to their room and collapsed face-down onto the bed. Their head buzzed like a swarm of angry bees.

This mission wasn’t even that hard! It had to be easy! They had to be fine! They can’t just crash after every task like that! They have to be useful! They have to put effort—

Their face burned, and it was terrifying. They didn’t lose control like that. They didn’t crash out. They didn’t wallow in despair. They didn’t allow emotions to take over them. They couldn’t. They mustn’t.

Leader knocked at the door—Whumpee knew it was them without asking. Who else could it be?

They breathed slowly, trying to collect themself. The knocking grew more insistent.

“Come in,” They sighed, not bothering to sit up.

It felt awful to be in front of someone in such a disheveled state. Their insides twisted and they wanted to vomit. They’d rather die than allow anyone to see them like that.

Still, they couldn’t find enough energy to care. It blowed their mind—they were overwhelmed by humiliation and disgust, and at the same time they felt so numb and unreal that they couldn’t give less fuck about anything in the world.

“Whumpee?” Before Leader had at least tried to hide their concern, but now it flew out of the window. “What’s going on?” They demanded.

They must be worried sick, noted some part of Whumpee who knew Leader too well.

“I’m fine,” They mumbled, not lifting their head from the pillow.

“Whumpee!” Leader raised their voice. “Stop lying!”

Adrenaline spike gave them enough (so needed!) energy to sit upright and face Leader with a challenging smile and slightly amused look in the eyes—wow, you are daring to shout at me now? Interesting!

“Whumpee,” Leader deflated and sighed, rubbing their forehead. The look in their eyes was a look of a tired mother who tried to reason with a stubborn child. “I can see your condition, okay? It’s not fine. Please,” They stepped closer and stretched a hand. “Let me help you.”

You’re really into saving everyone, Mx. Leader, they wanted to say. Haven’t you learned yet that it doesn’t work with me? Haven’t you learned yet that it has consequences? Have you already forgotten where your previous tries brought you? Have you ever thought about the cost—not for you, we both know you don’t care about it—but for other people who relied on you?

They wanted to make it sting. They wanted to hurt them, to push them away. To make Leader leave them alone.

Why do you want to force your help on me so bad? Do you, by any chance, miss something? Whumpee wanted to taunt, to fluster them, to distract and provoke, to make them forget what they were talking about.

But they were reasonable, after all. They knew something was wrong with them, more wrong than usual. They knew they had to accept help. They didn’t want to let down everyone who relied on them—like Leader have done once, and it almost cost their team everything, and it almost cost Whumpee their sanity—so they had to swallow everything that burned and swirled inside them and spit it out. They have to get their shit together. They have to put effort.

“Well,” They slumped, then slowly laid down, glancing at Leader through their eyelashes, “Maybe I’m feeling a bit off for a couple of days.”

Amusing. They marvelled at the terrified look at Leader’s face.

“Haven’t thought it was that bad,” They blunted and immediately jumped into action, “I’ll bring Medic. Don’t go anywhere.” They stormed out of the room.

Whumpee couldn’t help but chuckle. Sometimes Leader was really funny. They definitely could use some distraction from the looming disgust of being exposed in their weakness.

They hated let people in. It have never done them good. And now they had no other choice.

Well. They’ll survive. They survived worse.

[sickfictropes]

12 things caretaker notices before whumpee does that tells them they're about to have a chronic injury/illness flare:

1. moving slowly and carefully, like they're babying chronically injured joints/muscles without realizing it

2. eating less or having to be reminded to eat because they don't feel hungry

3. massaging their temples to combat a background headache they're not even aware they're tuning out 

4. standing up strangely or slowly from sitting because they're hurting or dizzy

5. a slight difference in their gait to avoid putting pressure on something

6. going to bed earlier and waking up later

7. waking up a lot during the night or waking up and not being able to go back to sleep

8. tossing and turning a lot in their sleep

9. falling asleep in the middle of the day when they have quiet moments to sit down

10. talking less or more, either withdrawing or over-engaging to distract themself 

11. pallor to their skin, flush to their cheeks, dark circles under their eyes

12. being less coordinated when they move or use their fine motor skills

[osoka-writes]

another take on immortality through revival: reviving doesn’t equal to coming back untouched.

whumpee who revives wounded, just not (immediately) deadly. maybe they don’t even have any enhanced healing, so they still have to treat their injuries like a mortal person and take a long time to recover. maybe they have to do it themself if they wake up alone or don’t have anyone to care about them at the first place. maybe they’re too wounded to do it so they die again from an infection, slowly and painfully. only to wake up and repeat it in cycles if they can’t manage to treat themself.

maybe someone will eventually find them, severely wounded and delirious, and decide to help.

[osoka-writes]

immortal whumpee who revives after death in a very specific place. wherever they died, they wake up at this place. (i think about swamp spirit reviving in their swamp, but it can be anyone and anything else).

immortal whumpee who is captured by monster hunters, or cultists, or traffickers, or someone who wants to take some kind of advantage of them. they are tortured for days, maybe weeks, and at some point whumpers go too far. whumpee dies.

maybe whumpers didn’t know about that ability and are confused about losing their victim. or they do know and try to track whumpee down again. or they knew and were prepared, so whumpee revives and sighs in relief only to be captured again.

whumpers who have to hold back at their tortures despite the victim being immortal because they will lose them if they kill them. whumpee who tries to provoke whumpers into killing them to escape through revival.

[linesbetweenstars]

whump ideas, fae themed!

human captured by fae:

hands and feet tied with rough, thorny vines that dig into your wrists at every movement. gasping with pain every time someone drags you along by them. bonus points for a thorny collar

hunger gnawing at your stomach… you could eat their food and give up any chance of escape, or slowly starve hoping someone will come to get you

dragged around and forced to dance until exhausted

forced to complete impossible (and humiliating) tasks for a chance at escape, nearly succeeding only to be denied your reward on a technicality

elaborate punishments for breaking esoteric rules or not holding up your end of a bargain

being kept in an intricate bird cage barely big enough to hold you, dangled in front of royalty for what feels like ages. they don’t seem to register your discomfort and treat you as an interesting piece of decoration

fae captured by humans:

on the flip side, being kept in an animal cage or tank, treated like a “rare specimen”

you know how butterfly wings are usually folded in on themselves, but after they’re killed and pinned they’re stretched out to show off the pretty colors? that, but you’re still alive, and it’s unbearably painful to have them constantly stretched out, with wires holding them in place

or having your wings straight-up ripped off and put up on display

obviously your restraints are made of iron or silver. just being around the stuff drains you, making you feel heavy and exhausted, and you can feel it slowly poisoning you

you need constant exposure to sunlight in order to stay healthy and happy, and start to wither and wilt after being kept in a dark cell for even a couple days

you lost any powers you had upon entering the human world, and you’ve never felt this weak and vulnerable

[whumpshaped]

content: disabled whumpee, ableism, team whump

"I just don't think it's that serious."

Whumpee was just about to go grab breakfast in the common kitchen when they heard their teammate's voice. Something inside of them told them to stop before turning the corner; to wait.

"I can assure you it's plenty serious," they heard Leader say.

"Whumpee looks fine," their teammate went on regardless. "We all get tired, we all wake up in pain sometimes. I think they're exaggerating the extent of it for pity points, and to get out of missions. You should really look into this more."

Whumpee inhaled sharply. They had fibromyalgia, which meant they were in full-body pain most of the time. Because the pain didn't let them sleep much, they were almost constantly sleep deprived and fatigued. Not to mention the brain fog. Despite this, they almost never told Leader to get them out of a mission, not unless the pain was absolutely unbearable.

Truth be told, they felt bad about those occasions without anyone saying what their teammate was saying. They didn't like to stay behind. They didn't like to feel like they were a burden.

"This conversation ends here," Leader said sternly. "Unless you want to question the way I'm leading this team."

There was silence. Then footsteps, and their teammate turned the corner and almost bumped into them. Whumpee didn't let any emotion show on their face. As the two of them stood there, staring at each other, it was clear to both that Whumpee had heard the conversation. Now it was a game of chicken. Who would apologise first?

Neither did.

Instead, their teammate walked past them, intentionally bumping Whumpee's shoulder in the process. Whumpee didn't say a word about it. They simply walked into the kitchen, sitting down at the table with Leader.

"You heard," Leader concluded despite Whumpee's stoicism.

"Yeah," they said curtly.

"I want you to know—"

"It's fine."

"It's not fine."

Whumpee shrugged. "What can you do? You can't kick them off the team — they're useful. You can't kick me off — I'm useful, too. We'll just have to live with the disagreement."

Leader took a sip of their coffee, brows furrowed in concern. "You'll have to work it out."

Right. As if that was so easy with miserable people like their teammate, who barely thought fibromyalgia existed as an illness, let alone that someone in their vicinity had it. "We will," they said anyway.

[pain-in-the-everywhere]

the "random stranger approaching you in public and asking you 'what happened????'" canon event that disabled people experience is so underutilised in whump.

have your visibly disabled whumpees with a bucketload of unprocessed trauma from The Whump just be chilling on the bus when someone asks them unsolicited personal questions, and watch whumpee spiral.